During an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on NATO members to step up their defense spending and meet their commitments on the issue, especially because the U.S. has elections coming up and this means it’s crucial to show the U.S. that NATO is meeting its commitment, “because who knows what happens after the presidential elections.” Kallas also said she believes some countries think they don’t actually have to meet their commitments.
Kallas said, “First, we have to really do the goals and do the obligations that we agreed to, and it seems to me that not all countries take this seriously enough. Maybe — as a Prime Minister, I can tell you so many things that I could spend the money on — education, social security, social affairs, everything — but, we are in a security situation [where] we don’t have a choice. And I feel that some countries are thinking that we don’t really have to spend this money, and we can postpone this fulfillment of the investment pledge. But what is important to understand is that the investment pledge was for ten years. So, it fulfills in 2024, which is next year, when we have the summit in Washington. And considering that we have the U.S. elections coming [up], so, I think it is very important for the European defense to also show to the Americans that we are doing everything, because who knows what happens after the presidential elections.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett